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Friday, September 25, 2009

The group that made Jesus angriest was one that He outwardly resembled. Jesus obeyed the Mosaic Law & quoted leading Parisees. Yet He singled out the Parisees for His strongest attacks. He called them serpents, a brood of vipers, fools and hypocrites. What provoked such outbursts? The Pharisees devoted their lives to following God, gave away an exact tithe, obeyed every law in the Torah and sent out missionaries to gain new converts. Against the relativists and secularists of the first century, they held firm to tradional values. Yet Jesus' fierce denunciations of the Parisees show how seriously He viewed the toxic threat of legalism. Its dangers are elusive, slippery, hard to pin down. Jesus condemned the emphasis on externals, "You cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence." Expression of love for God has become ways to impress others. The proof of spiritual maturity is not how "pure" you are but your awareness of your impurity. That very awareness opens the door to God's grace.

I found this in my Daily Bread book and it really made me stop and think about myself. There is one thing that sticks out in this writing.....1) Expression of love for God has become ways to impress others. It really made me stop and think about my spirituality and what is means to me. I admit there have been many times in my life when I referenced my religion or enlarged the truth about my walk with God just to impress somebody. How about you????? Take a good look at your walk with God.....can you honestly say that you walk the walk and talk the talk equally? When we admit to God that we are powerless, (in essence our awareness of our impurities) the grace of God will DEFINATELY enter your life. Using God as a way to impress others is simply not right. Our walk should be our own because we want and desire Him. Our relationship should be intimate....face to face not side by side! When we can TRULY live our life this way, the blessings will pour into our lives in ways you can't even imagine. God is an awesome God and has shown me over and over again that With Him All Things Are Possible........Just Believe!